Mobile Medical Clinic in Dondon, Haiti

3 of 500 people in Dondon, Haiti, waiting for HACAOT mobile healthcare clinic.

The city of Dondon, with a population of roughly 50,000, is a one and a half hour drive from Cap Haitain, Haiti. On Wednesday morning, at 5:30 am, the HATCAOT medical team traveled to Dondon to set up a one day mobile health clinic. Their goal: Treat as many people in need as possible.

More than a third of the medical team rides in a truck bed with the supplies.

A convoy of 4 vehicles transported 25 HACAOT members, medical supplies, basic diagnostic equipment, water, and clothing donations. Not everyone rides inside. In the back of the truck is a Physician’s Assistant, 3 Nurses, a Clinical Lab Scientist, 2 Triage Evaluators and 2 Translators. When the group arrived there were over 500 people waiting for a chance to be treated. By late morning the crowd swelled to nearly 1000.

View of clinic from above. The HACAOT team was treating people within 15 minutes of arriving in Dondon.

A baby girl comes in with an abscessed wrist that needs to be cleaned and bandaged.

Bandaging the little girl’s wrist.

In the comfort of a mother’s loving arms.

Chronic dehydration is an underlying condition for most of the people in Dondon, and exacerbates all other illness. Some residents are less dehydrated like the children pictured above. And some are severely dehydrated like the woman seen in the next two images.

This woman was brought through the crowd on a stretcher. Dr. Frank, (on the right), and his daughter (on the left), examine her to determine a diagnosis. Ashley graduated from Nursing School this August, 2011. When she returns home she’ll start her first full time job as an orthopedic and neuro nurse.

Once they determined it was a case of severe dehydration, she was lifted off the stretcher (partly to free it up), and sat down with a bag of intravenous fluids to rehydrate her. She stayed in the chair most of the day, then walked out without any help.

The woman above was having her eyes examined for cataracts. The photographs that follow were portraits taken at the end of the day. Five of the people made it in, four did not. There was no more time.

The clinic has to shut down before dark. There is no electricity. Only the front 10 people on the landing at the top of the stairs were able to get in – no one else. The man sitting on the concrete railing and staring at camera was one of the very last. It’s the hardest part of the day for everyone on the team.

By the time the clinic was packed up it was dark. 410 people had been treated, given liquids to drink, vitamins, all necessary medication except for the most serious cases, a worm pill for almost everyone, and some clothes. 302 adults and 108 children were given a great gift by a team of 18 volunteers from the United States and 8 form Haiti, working for the HAitian Caribbean American Organization of Texas – HACAOT

9 Comments

these are beautiful photos of a very sad story – you and the team of medical professionals are doing an incredibly difficult job; it must be heartbreaking when the day is over and there are hundreds of people still waiting for care; make sure you are all taking care of yourselves

That is awesome it is a amazing to help so many people in just one day! Those are amazing photos Adam!!! I can’t wait to see everyday your labor of love. Keep going guys you are awesome Baker Prairie is watching!

I was at JP/HRO last Tuesday. Before photographing I met with their new communications director. I told her about the work I’d done on the island, HACAOT, and your presence with JP right after the earthquake. Doubt it will go anywhere, but I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to put it out there.